Andhra CM Naidu releases ₹200 crore as compensation to Veligonda oustees
With this tranche, the government has disbursed a total of ₹518 crore so far to the families displaced by the irrigation project
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced on Wednesday that the state government had released ₹200 crore as compensation to families displaced by the Veligonda irrigation project. This brings the total compensation paid by the government to ₹518 crore thus far. The representatives of the affected families met with the Chief Minister at the Assembly premises.
Naidu emphasized that the government acknowledged the sacrifices made by the farmers and displaced families for the irrigation project and assured that the remaining compensation would be released soon. The displaced families expressed their satisfaction with the government's support and payment of compensation. Under the One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme, the government had already paid around ₹318 crore as compensation to 2,557 families who had built their own houses on the project land.
On Wednesday, Naidu released a ₹200 crore cheque to 1,600 displaced families under OTS. The government is also providing infrastructure facilities in seven rehabilitation colonies built for the displaced families, with six colonies having completed infrastructure work. Veligonda project's Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu stated that the project would benefit the people in drought-prone and fluoride-affected areas of the undivided Prakasam district.
He recalled that the foundation stone for the Veligonda project was laid in 1996 by Naidu, and it was inaugurated by YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy before its completion. Ramanaidu noted that the government had set a target to complete the project by August 2026, and all works related to the head regulator, including CC walls and wing walls, were completed by May 2026.
The tunnel works requiring benching were also completed within two years. He pointed out that the previous YSRCP government had abandoned the task of removing the 1,900-tonne, 175-meter-long Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM), with about 300 tonnes of debris still remaining.
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